Friday, September 30, 2005

No More Reaching Across The Damn Aisle: Reason Number 206

Here are two examples of how Republicans cannot possibly look at the world more differently than we do or have more contempt for the things we believe. First, we have radio host and former Reagan administration Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, talking to a caller on his show and making the following statement:

“I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

Bennett follows that by saying that such an action would be an “…impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.”

It’s nice that Bennett isn’t yet prepared to present this to George W. Bush as a policy recommendation. Bennett’s show, “Bill Bennett's Morning in America,” is on 115 radio stations nationwide.

Second on our list of Republicans who make me wonder just how deep this freak show is under the alleged GOP “big tent,” is Alabama State Senator Hank Erwin, who claims that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment on a sinful part of America.

Republican legislator Erwin wrote in a weekly column for news outlets that "New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness. It is the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God."

The former conservative talk-radio host and now a media consultant, wrote the column after a tour of hurricane-wrecked Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss., and Bayou La Batre on the Alabama coast.

"Warnings year after year by godly evangelists and preachers went unheeded. So why were we surprised when finally the hand of judgment fell?" Erwin wrote. "Sadly, innocents suffered along with the guilty. Sin always brings suffering to good people as well as the bad."

An upstanding member of Shades Mountain Independent Church, Erwin said, "As harsh as it may sound, those hurricanes do say that God is real, and we have to realize sin has consequences." Given how many children were harmed by Hurricane Katrina, these sentiments truly reflect that old Republican philosophy: “Love the fetus, hate the child.”

Every time I contemplate people like Erwin and the nuts on the Religious Right, I’m astounded at the prescience of the founding fathers, who sought to protect normal people from this lot.

And, whenever I look at people like either Bennett or Erwin, it only steels my resolve to not reach across the aisle to any party that proudly welcomes them as members.

Political writer Bob Geiger is the award-winning author of the Yellow Dog Blog and BobGeiger.com and specializes in coverage of the U.S. Senate. He won the 2005 Weblog Awards prize for Best New Blog and was a finalist in the Koufax Awards in 2005 for his column "I Know This Little Boy in New Orleans."

He is the coauthor of The Real McCain and his work has appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the New York Journal News. A contributing writer to The Huffington Post and Alternet, Bob also makes appearances to comment on Senate activity on many popular radio programs.